Don’t Write Your Advertising Copy with a Shoehorn
Posted by admin on Apr 16, 2012 in Blog, Fundraising | 0 comments
Question: What word count should I use when writing a 60-second radio spot?
Answer: It’s complicated.
Word count is the last place to begin when writing for ANY advertising platform, especially radio or your podcast. Allow me to write to radio producers. I’ll make application to other media at the end of my post.
Remember, you are writing for the ear, not for the eye. Your ad must sound right. Some words have multiple syllables and take longer to say with proper enunciation. Most word processing programs count telephone numbers and websites as only one word. This is a big reason word count is a dangerous barometer for length. For example:
Word processor – 1 word
To the ear – 9 words
Word processor – 1 word
To the ear – 4 words
So, if we can’t use word count, where do we begin?
Let’s start with assumptions. I assume you know:
- the objective for your ad
- the required call to action
- what you want your listener to think, feel, and do after hearing your spot
If you don’t know those things, go back to your creative team and/or your client and define those. You’ll be lost without them.
Identify the Non-Negotiables
What are the things you must say? Identify those and write the script for those first.
- Telephone number? (how many times do you need to deliver it?)
- Website? (how many times)
- Product title, sub-title, and byline?
Write this portion of the script first because it’s the most important. If your ad doesn’t move your listener to action or implant the name of your product in her mind, you’ve failed.
This is also the easiest and fastest to write. Your first draft may not be the most creative or pithy, but it will put you in the ballpark.
Many of your spots will contain clips of music, man-on-the-street comments, necessary sound effects or sweepers, etc. Always put a hard clock to these items, too. Estimating their length can come back to haunt you.
Always Time the Spot Out Loud
Your listener will only hear the spot. He will never read it. You and I can read faster than we can speak. We can read much faster than you can perform a spot.
After you’ve written the business portion of your spot, speak it out loud with appropriate pauses, emotion, and emphasis. Even if you work in a cubicle. Even if co-workers think you’re crazy. They won’t when your ads produce results.
Time your delivery with a stopwatch. Subtract your result from 60. That’s how much time you have for the creative and punch.
One tip:Don’t look at your stopwatch while you’re timing yourself. You might speed up or manipulate the delivery in other ways. Remember, your listener is only hearing your ad. You want her to hear the message clearly and be moved. Never reduce the effectiveness of your ad for the sake of time.
Don’t Forget the Power of Pause
The most effective words in some ads are the words said before and after pauses. Pauses are like neon because they dramatically highlight what you’re saying. Pauses are like magnets because they cause your listener to lean toward her radio, device, or computer.
If you measure by word count and not by performing your spots out loud, the pauses will be pushed aside. You might become married to a phrase or creative idea which will be marginalized without a pause. The spot has to breathe. It has to hold the listener’s attention and move her to action. You can’t do that with a script that sounds like a machine gun set on full-auto.
You Must Edit Text
Now it’s time to record. I know what it’s like, you’ve read the script out loud dozens of times. You’ve made many edits. Now you’ve printed the script and are in the studio with the voice talent.
And it’s long.
If the ad is tight or long, do NOT say, “I’ll fix it in post.” Don’t think “I can time compress.”
Take a few minutes to edit the text and have the voice talent record again. Don’t compromise the impact of the spot because you’re tired of the subject matter.
A Few Notes About Visual Ads:
Work with your graphic designer ahead of time on size of headlines, placement of photos, background textures, white space (the visual equivalent of a pause), and more. Your designer can give you an estimated word count for the text boxes he’s outlined for you. Work in cooperation with your graphic designer instead of bringing your copy and forcing it. You’ll be much happier with the finished product… And it will produce better results. Nevertheless, begin with the non-negotiables in a print ad or digital ad as well. You’ve got to get that information on the page/screen or the ad fails.
A Few Notes about Television Ads:
You have the capacity to stimulate multiple senses at the same time. I make sure to watch my ads with the sound off to see how the eye is led and moved to action. I also close my eyes and just listen to the sound. Will it motivate the viewer? Then I put them together. Do the eye and ear work in concert and harmony with each other? Don’t allow your ad to compete for the attention of eye over ear or vice versa.
What ways have you employed to keep your spots to the correct length when writing?